{"id":760663,"date":"2026-06-14T07:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/760663\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T07:48:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:48:22","slug":"knicks-clinch-first-nba-title-in-53-years-as-brunson-shines-against-spurs-basketball-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/760663\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks clinch first NBA title in 53 years, as Brunson shines against Spurs | Basketball News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Knicks ended their championship drought on Saturday, winning the best-of-seven NBA Finals series 4-1 against the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n

Published On 14 Jun 202614 Jun 2026<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks, fuelled by a sensational 45 points from Jalen Brunson, rallied again to beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 and win their first NBA title in 53 years on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The Knicks won the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, denying Victor Wembanyama and his young Spurs teammates on their home floor to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

The Knicks, who recovered from 29 points down in game four to produce the biggest comeback in Finals history<\/a>, erased a double-digit deficit to win for the fourth time in the series.<\/p>\n

Knicks vs Spurs timeline<\/p>\n

The Knicks trailed by 16 in the second quarter and were down by 10 early in the fourth, but Brunson wouldn\u2019t let them lose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got no words,\u201d Brunson said after setting a Knicks record for points in a Finals game, surpassing Willis Reed\u2019s 38 in game three of the team\u2019s 1970 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019m feeling,\u201d added Brunson, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in awe. Whenever someone counts us out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

French star Wembanyama scored 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, and rookie Dylan Harper scored 25 points off the bench for San Antonio.<\/p>\n

But once again, the Spurs team that vanquished the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals were unable to hold off the crafty and determined Knicks.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson holds the MVP trophy after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series [Ross D Franklin\/AP Photo]Empire State Building lit up in Knicks colours<\/p>\n

The win marked the final chapter of a dramatic playoff run which had captivated New York, with tens of thousands of long-suffering fans packing neighbourhood watch-parties throughout the Big Apple as the team inched towards a first title in more than half a century.<\/p>\n

Within moments of clinching victory on Saturday, the Empire State Building was lit up in the Knicks\u2019 signature orange and blue colours, as raucous celebrations erupted outside the team\u2019s Madison Square Garden home.<\/p>\n

There was a boisterous blue and orange-clad contingent cheering them on at the Spurs\u2019 Frost Bank Center as well, where the celebrities on the sidelines included not only longtime Knicks fans but also Britain\u2019s Prince Harry, who sat with NBA commissioner Adam Silver.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Empire State Building is seen illuminated with the colours of the New York Knicks after Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in New York [Ryan Murphy\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n

Mikal Bridges scored 14 points and Josh Hart added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns scored just two points before fouling out in the fourth quarter, but pulled down 10 rebounds and came up with three steals and a blocked shot.<\/p>\n

Fouled on a three-pointer, Brunson made all three free throws to put the Knicks up 86-85 with 3:40 left to play.<\/p>\n

It was their first lead since the opening minutes, and they wouldn\u2019t trail again.<\/p>\n

Game four hero OG Anunoby drove for a dunk that made it 88-85, and after the Spurs knotted it at 88-88, Brunson put New York back in front with a driving basket and the Knicks held on.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew York Knicks fans celebrate their victory as they watch Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday, June 13, 2026, in New York [Andres Kudacki\/AP Photo]\u2018We weren\u2019t ready, \u2018 says Spurs\u2019 coach<\/p>\n

With their backs against the wall, the Spurs were locked in defensively from the opening tip-off.<\/p>\n

Wembanyama set the tone, blocking three shots in the first quarter as the Spurs powered to a 23-13 lead, holding the Knicks to their fewest points in any quarter this postseason.<\/p>\n

Wembanyama tied a Finals record with five blocks in the first half and drilled a three-pointer that pushed the Spurs\u2019 lead to 16 early in the second period.<\/p>\n

But the Knicks were heating up, cutting the deficit to three before Devin Vassell\u2019s fadeaway basket at the buzzer sent the Spurs into the interval with a 42-37 lead.<\/p>\n

San Antonio quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead, but Brunson and the gritty Knicks wouldn\u2019t let them get away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t ready to win an NBA championship,\u201d Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. \u201cThe better team won.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did a lot of good things, and we didn\u2019t finish the job. That\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) is fouled by New York Knicks centre Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second half [Darren Abate\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Knicks ended their championship drought on Saturday, winning the best-of-seven NBA Finals series 4-1 against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":760664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[7,6,67,275,417,418],"class_list":["post-760663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116747364510188786","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=760663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/760663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/760664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=760663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=760663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=760663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}